All the slaves, both men and women, except those about the house,
were forced to work in the field. We raised corn, wheat and tobacco.
The provision for each slave, per week, was a peck of corn, two
dozens of herrings, and about four pounds of meat. The children,
under eight years of age, were not allowed anything. The women were
allowed four weeks of leisure at child birth; after which, they were
compelled to leave their infants to provide for themselves, and to
the mercy of Providence, while they were again forced to labor in the
field, sometimes a mile from the house.
Often the older children had to take care of the younger, sometimes
the mother, until her babe was about three or four months old, if she
had a kind and humane overseer, could come to the house once between
meals, and nurse her child; but such favors were but seldom granted.
More frequently the mother must take her child with her to the field,
place it at the side where she could see it as she came to the end of
the row; moving it along as she moved from row to row.
The slaves were called out from their quarters at daylight. The
breakfast must be prepared and eaten before going to work, and if
not done before the overseer called them to the field, they must go
without it; and often the children, being asleep at this time, were
of course obliged to go without their breakfast.
The slaves’ clothing was, in winter, one shirt, pants and jacket,
without lining, shoes and stockings. In summer, one shirt and one
pair of pants of coarse linen.
When the tobacco is ripe, or nearly so, there are frequently worms
in it, about two inches long, and as large as one’s thumb. They have
horns, and are called tobacco worms. They are very destructive to the
tobacco crops, and must be carefully picked off by the hands, so as
not to break the leaves, which are very easily broken. But careful
as the slaves may be, they cannot well avoid leaving some of these
worms on the plants. It was a custom of Mr. Wagar to follow after the
slaves, to see if he could find any left, and if so, to compel the
person in whose row they were found, to eat them. This was done to
render them more careful. It may seem incredible to my readers, but
it is a fact.
My mistress and her family were all Episcopalians. The nearest church
was five miles from our plantation, and there was no Methodist church
nearer than ten miles. So we went to the Episcopal church, but always
came home as we went, for the preaching was above our comprehension,
so that we could understand but little that was said. But soon the
Methodist religion was brought among us, and preached in a manner so
plain that the way-faring man, though a fool, could not err therein.
This new doctrine produced great consternation among the
slaveholders. It was something which they could not understand.
It brought glad tidings to the poor bondman; it bound up the
broken-hearted; it opened the prison doors to them that were bound,
and let the captive go free.
As soon as it got among the slaves, it spread from plantation to
plantation, until it reached ours, where there were but few who did
not experience religion. The slaveholders, becoming much alarmed at
this strange phenomenon, called a meeting, at which they appointed
men to patrol the country, and break up these religious assemblies.
This was done, and many a poor victim had his back severely cut, for
simply going to a prayer meeting.
At length, Mr. Wagar bought at auction a man named Martin, who was a
fiddler. As slaves are very fond of dancing, our master thought that
fiddling would bring them back to their former ignorant condition,
and bought this man for that purpose. It had the desired effect upon
most of them, and what the whip failed to accomplish, the fiddle
completed, for it is no easy matter to drive a soul from God by
cruelty, when it may easily be drawn away by worldly pleasures;
and fiddling I think is better appropriated to this purpose, than
anything else I could mention.